I take a breath, surprised at how much I want her to understand this.
"I'm not the guy who always has the right answer or the perfect plan. I'm the one who makes everyone laugh when tensions get high, who smooths things over when my brothers clash. The family peacekeeper."
She studies me, really studies me, like she's seeing past the easy charm for the first time. "That's not nothing, you know. Being the heart of a family."
"Try telling my dad that." I smile to soften the words. "Don't get me wrong, he loves me. But there's a difference between being loved and being taken seriously."
"Is that why you joined the business? To be taken seriously?"
Her question cuts closer to the bone than I expected. I reach for my drink, needing a moment.
"Partly," I admit. "But also because… it's home. The brewery, the Slade name, it's who we are. I couldn't imagine being anywhere else."
Sadie nods, her shoulder relaxing against mine. "I get that. Finding your place."
"The café is that for you, isn't it?" I ask.
"Yes." She pulls her knees up, wrapping her arms around them. "It's the first thing that's ever been truly mine. Something I built, something stable."
The sun dips lower, painting her in gold. She's let her guard down, just enough to show me these small, precious pieces of herself. I want to gather each one carefully, like collecting rare stones.
"Tell me something real," I say softly. "Something you haven't told anyone else."
She hesitates, then turns to face me. Our knees are touching again, and this time neither of us moves away.
"I'm terrified," she whispers. "Not just about the hearing. About everything. I wake up every morning with this knot in my chest, wondering if today's the day it all falls apart."
I reach out, brushing a strand of hair from her face. "And yet you get up anyway. Keep going. That's courage, Sadie."
"Or stupidity," she says with a half smile.
"No." My hand settles at the back of her neck, thumb tracing small circles against her skin. "It's strength. The real kind."
Her eyes darken at my touch, pupils dilating slightly. The air between us shifts, grows heavier. Her lips part, and I want nothing more than to taste them again.
"Axel," she breathes, and the sound of my name in her mouth is almost my undoing.
I lean forward, closing the final inches between us. Our lips meet, and Sadie's mouth opens beneath mine with a soft sigh that sends want flooding through me.
Her hands grip my shoulders, fingers digging in as I deepen the kiss. I slide my hand to the back of her neck, cradling her head as I taste her, coffee and cider and something uniquely Sadie.
She shifts and she’s all but straddling me. My cock aches, hard as stone. I grip the back of her neck, forcing myself to breathe, to keep control. I could take her right here, lose myself in her—but I won’t. Not unless I can do it right. I rest my forehead against hers, dragging in air. Every muscle is locked, holding me back from devouring her.
"You have no idea what you do to me," I whisper against her lips. My voice comes out rougher than I intend, gravelly with restraint. "I'm trying so hard to be good right now."
Her eyes are dark, pupils blown wide when she looks at me. "What if I don't want you to be good?"
Jesus. I close my eyes, fighting for control.
"Trust me, there's nothing I want more than to lay you down right here." I brush my lips against her jaw, feeling her pulse flutter beneath my touch.
"But not like this. Not rushed."
"Axel," she breathes, and the sound of my name in her mouth is almost my undoing.
"You make me so fucking hard," I admit, my lips at her ear now. "Have since the first time I saw you behind that counter."
She shudders against me, a small whimper escaping her throat. I'm about to kiss her again, my control hanging by a thread, when her phone blares from her pocket.
